


Gonna Fly Away

by borntosik



Category: My Mad Fat Diary
Genre: M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2016-05-01
Packaged: 2018-06-05 16:13:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6712102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/borntosik/pseuds/borntosik
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After finding out Finn is going to move in with Rae, Gary has a chat with his son. (S3 involved)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gonna Fly Away

He meditates on the different options he has. He’s been thinking about it for weeks now and it’s time to take one of the biggest decisions he has made in his short life.

He takes the phone in his hand and clicks on different numbers and waits until someone says Hello on the other side of the line. When he finally speaks, his voice sounds weird, afraid, nervous…

“Hello?” A loud but manly voice answers.

“Hiya…” He responds.

How are you supposed to answer to someone you don’t know?

“I’m Finn Nelson, sir.” He clears his throat and takes a look at the newspaper that leans on top of the kitchen’s table. “I was calling you for the flat advert you published in StamfordNews a couple of days ago.”

He waits until the man makes a noise like a nod and checks the ad on the paper.

“Oh, yes. Are you interested?”

“Sure. My girlfriend and I were looking for a place for us.” His words sound as if he was well-educated. “I’ve read it’s a large flat and the location fits perfect for me because I’m working near it, so…”

“It’s a really nice space, lad. Nice light and near Stamford road.”

“That’s what I’ve read. And how much does it cost? I’d like to move in as soon as possible.” He laughs through the phone, thinking about Rae and how happy this is going to make her.

“450 pounds.”

“Per month? That’s awesome!” A wide smile appears on his face when he hears the total price. It’s cheaper than he thought.

“No, no, lad. 450 per week!” His smile freezes while the older man laughs for a few seconds. Finn checks the newspaper and praises for a discount or something.

“Don’t you think it’s a bit expensive? It’s just a one room flat…”

“The flat is well-located and it’s easy to find everything around it. It’s an investment. I assure you!”

“Yeah, but…”

’ _Fuck’_ he thinks.

“I think I’m going to need a couple of days to think about it. Don’t you mind, do you?”

“No, of course not. Take the time you need…” When the seller answers, he doesn’t sound too convinced by Finn’s interest and it’s obvious he knows Finn is not going to rent his flat. He must be thinking he’s a stupid boy who wants his flat to shag girls.

Finn hangs up the phone and takes a red pen and writes a big cross in the middle of the ad. He’s in need of a private space, but not for that price, mainly because he’s the one he’s paying.

Of course, Rae doesn’t know a thing about it and he thought about telling her if she doesn’t go to uni. That is the plan. If Rae is not going anywhere, they rent a place for themselves. So, her telling him how bad the interview in Bristol went, he started preparing all the stuff. This is supposed to be kind of a surprise, like a gift he gives her after college. Because they’ve made it,  _together._

He reads other ads while he circles some of them with his red pen and phones every each and one of them. Some of them were expensive and the others didn’t have enough room for the two of them. A  _single_  flat, they said.

He checks the watch in his wrist and surprises himself because it’s late and he’s supposed to meet his girl after college. They’re going on a date to the same cinema where they accidentally met on the first place.

He still has some time left to call someone else, so he tries again. He marks the different number on the phone keyboard and waits until the other one in the line answers.

“Hello?”

“Hello! Good morning, sir. Am I speaking with Mr. Simmons?”

“Yes, you are.”

“Hiya. My name is Finn Nelson. I was calling because the flat you rent over the bookies.”

“Have you found it on the newspaper?”

“Yes, sir. I’ve read it’s a cozy apartment for two.”

“No animals allowed, though.”

“No need, sir. We don’t have any pets…” That’s half a lie, because he has always wanted to pet a dog, although Rae is more for cats. And he planned on buying an animal… he’d do with a hamster. “The price is still 250 per week?”

“It is, Mr. Nelson.”

“Well, if it is, I’m really interested in renting your flat, sir.”

“We could meet up whenever you want, so you can see the place. Maybe Saturday morning?”

Finn tries to remember if he has any sort of appointment on Saturday and goes for a yes, but then Rae comes suddenly to his mind. Rae won’t be busy that morning, so it means they’ll go somewhere together. Finn won’t be on his own.

“Could it be on Friday? I could skip from work for an hour and visit the place…”

“Alright, then. Friday it is. Is it 10 o'clock a good time?”

“Perfect.”

“Do you know where the flat is exactly? We could meet there.”

“A friend of mine leaves near there. Won’t be no problem to find it.”

“Alright, lad. See you on Friday, then.”

“Goodbye Mr. Simmons. And thanks!”

He hangs up the phone with a bright smile around his face and points an exclamation mark on the sides of the advert. Afterwards, he grabs his jacket and car keys and leaves the house.

A couple of hours later, the front door of the Nelson’s house is being opened. Gary Nelson has come home. First, he takes his jacket off and places it inside the wardrobe beside the door. The next thing he does is going to the living room, switching on the TV with the remote and walks to the kitchen, preparing himself a brew.

Although his son had prepared some tea, he puts the kettle on and waits until the water is hot and grabs some black tea from the cupboard. His eyes follow the room, checking if there are any sort of biscuits left. The box where he keeps them is empty and he remembers he must go and do the shopping.

Then, the newspaper on the table catches his attention. It’s full of red circles. He reads without paying attention at what it’s marked, but after reading which page is in red, he takes the pages and reads carefully at the words.

_STAMFORD_

_RENTING_

_FLAT RENTING – PERFECT FOR COUPLES_

_COMFY LOFT_

More titles like those ones are the ones Gary reads over and over again. Is Finn…?

He drinks half of his tea when the front door opens loudly with a “Hi da'”. Gary doesn’t hear different footsteps, so he assumes Rae has not come with his son.

The younger one enters the house, leaving his stuff on the table near the front door while he takes his jacket off.

“Finn?” He asks, waiting for a quick answer from the lad.

“Wha’?” Finn has left his dad in the kitchen while he walked upstairs. He waits patiently for his son, although he doesn’t approach the room. His tea is getting cold, though he doesn’t matter. His son is much more important than a hot mug full of tea.

“Finn?” He says again, a little bit louder.

Thirty seconds later, he’s there, on the doorframe.

“What?”

“Sit down.”

Finn does what he says and stands still, furrowing an eyebrow at his old man. Gary hits the table with the newspaper, pointing with his index fingers to the amount of red circles that are on said pages.

“What’s that, Finn?” The dad crosses his arms, staring at his son without any kind of distraction.

Finn, on the other side, looks down, avoiding his dad’s eyes. He knows he should have told him he was thinking about moving away.  _Again_. Though he didn’t. He didn’t even tell Rae what he was planning for both of them neither.

“Dad, I…”

He really wanted to tell him sooner. He just didn’t have the time. He doesn’t even have the flat yet. Gary sighs, taking the time to calm his nerves and change his mood from anger to sadness because of his son’s move.

“When were you gonna tell me?”

“I… I dunno…”

“Are you serious? Living on your own?”

“I… I won’t.” Finn answers, undecided on his answer.

“Hm?”

“I mean, I won’t be living on my own. I-I… I’ll… Rae’s going to… We’re gonna-”

“Does Linda agree with that?”

Finn shallows an amount of saliva when his girlfriend’s mum name appears on the conversation. Does Linda agree? More like, does Linda  _know_? He, again, hides his gaze from his dad, looking through the kitchen’s window and staring to a brown bird who has stopped in the windowsill.

“Sort of…” He says, mumbling.

“Did Rae tell her what your plans are?”

“Rae…” He mutters again. “It’s a surprise da’!”

“Are you trying to tell me you’re renting a flat without Rae’s knowledge?”

“Maybe?”

“For fuck’s sake, Finn!” Gary rises his voice for the first time that evening and hits the table with the palm of his right hand. He takes a deep breath, closing his eyes and tries to calm himself during the next ten seconds. “Is it… Is it because of me? Because I… I don’t… You don’t have enough intimacy in here. Am I correct?”

“It’s not that, dad. It’s just… I thought it’d be a good idea, you know? To cheer Rae up.”

“Why for?”

“She won’t be going to Bristol… The interview went badly and if she’s not going, she’ll be staying in here at least ‘til next year. We could try… I win enough money for both of us… It can work. It  _will_.”

“You know Rae can stay the weekends, right? I can give you some time alone whenever you need, son.”

“Da’… don’t.”

“Aren’t you comfortable in here anymore? You requested a new duvet. We could save some money a buy a new bed if that’s what you want.”

“Dad! That is not what  _I_ want.”

“What do you want, then?”

“RAE! I WANT RAE!” He jumps from his seat and hold himself putting his hands on the edge of the table, yelling at his dad. He almost never yells at him. They’re more than mates than father and son. “I love her, dad. I-I just want to be with her…” He whispers more to himself than to his dad’s ears. He sits calmer in the chair again and takes the newspaper in his hands. “I just want to do it properly…”

His dad stands up and grabs a mug from the cupboard and puts some of the tea he made earlier and he gives it to Finn. He takes a sip after adding two spoons of sugar and smiles at his father.

“Have you ever had the need to be with someone so hard? Like, you want to make that person so happy no matter what?” Finn asks to his dad without averting his eyes from the cup of tea.

“I did, yeah.”

Finn doesn’t need to ask who made that happen. It’s his own mum.

“I want us to grow up as a couple. That’s all… It’s not bad to try, is it?”

“No…”

“But, are you entirely sure about the step you’re taking?”

“No, but I have to take the chance.”

“I’m just gonna say one thing” Gary points at his son, trying to hide his smile with a fake but threatening gaze “Don’t you dare come back. Crying because you miss my food…”

Finn gives him his warmest smile, drinking his last sip of tea and stands up to leave the room. When he pass the doorframe, he turns around and stares at his father before leaving.

“Thanks for understand it, Da’…”

“One last thing, son.” Finn walks back from the living room and fixes his eyes again on his dad.

“Are you sure what you’re doing? I mean,  _really_.” Gary starts washing the two mugs used before while speaking to his son, making sure he’s sure about his latest decision. “I’m not saying Rae is not good enough for you or anything like that but… After what happened last time…” He wants to make sure Finn’s not gonna leave him again. Not Leeds, not the new flat… He is  _his_  boy, no matter what.

“Don’t worry that. I got everything under control. Everything’s gonna be alright. I’ve made sure of  _everything._ ”

 


End file.
